The Charles Steele Estate

The estate of Charles Steele (originally built for J.F.D. Lanier) built by James Brown Lord c. 1891 in Old Westbury. Steele gave the house an extensive renovation after he purchased it from Lanier. Steele was a partner in the law firm of Seward, Guthrie, Morawetz & Steele. He was also a partner at J.P. Morgan and Comapny. Click HERE for more on the estate and HERE to see where it would have stood on google earth (it was demolished c. 1950).

The Charles Steele Estate

The estate of Charles Steele, originally built for J.F.D. Lanier c. 1891 by James Brown Lord in Old Westbury. Above is the house as it looked in Lanier's time and below is how it looked after Steele completed his fairly significant renovations. In between the time Lanier and Steele owned this house, W.C. Whitney resided here while his house was being constructed around the corner. Click HERE for more on the Charles Steele estate.

Potcards from the Gary Lawrance collection.

The Charles Steele Estate

A before and after shot of the Charles Steele estate, originally built for J.F.D. Lanier c. 1891 by James Brown Lord in Old Westbury. The above picture is of the Lanier residence before Steele's renovations and below is after the extensive alterations and landscaping. Click HERE for more on the Charles Steele estate.

Postcards from the Gary Lawrance collection.

The J. Nevett Steele Residence

The Reverend J. Nevett Steele residence designed by J. Greenleaf Thorp c. 1891 in East Hampton.  Steele was a notable society member and vicar of Trinity Church for seventeen years.  It is unknown if the residence is still extant.

The Charles Steele Estate

The Charles Steele estate originally built for J.F.D. Lanier c. 1891 by James Brown Lord in Old Westbury.  Click HERE for more on the Steele estate.

The Charles Steele Estate

The Charles Steele estate originally built for J.F.D. Lanier by James Brown Lord c. 1891 in Old Westbury.  Click HERE to see what the Lanier place looked like and HERE for more on Steele's alterations.  The house has since been demolished.

The Lanier/Steele Residence

Above, the rear of the J.F.D. Lanier house as it looked in his time and below the result of Charles Steele's renovation on the c. 1891 James Brown Lord designed house in Old Westbury. Click HERE for more on the Lanier/Steele estate.

Pictures from the Gary Lawrance Collection.

The F. Skiddy Von Stade Estate

The Francis Skiddy Von Stade Sr. estate designed by Cross & Cross c. 1914 in Old Westbury. Skiddy was a member of F.S. Von Stade Co., importers of bristles, but was better known for his equine activities. A polo player in his youth, he was a member of the 1912 and 1913 Cooperstown team that won the Open Championship and played with the Meadowbrook team that won the Open Championship in 1919 and 1920. He was rated at six goals in 1922. Von Stade was a steward of the Jockey Club, was president of the Saratoga Association before NYRA took over the Saratoga track and was a founder and executive vice president of the National Museum of Racing in Saratoga Springs. He was also a charter member of the Grayson Foundation which was involved with equine disease research. He married Kathryn N. Steele, daughter of Charles Steele who owned the former Lanier estate next door. He was also mayor of Old Westbury from 1940 to 1950 and remained a trustee until his death in 1967. The estate was later owned by the Entenmann family and eventually became a dilapidated, abandoned wreck of a house. After sitting on the market for a number of years the property was finally purchased to be subdivided and the main house set to be razed. That work is currently underway. Click HERE to see the Von Stade estate on google earth and HERE on bing. Pictures of the house pre-demolition will be posted soon (as will the c. 1930 alterations by Peabody, Wilson & Brown).

Photos from Architecture magazine, 1915.

The Charles Steele Estate

The Charles Steele estate originally built for J.F.D. Lanier by James Brown Lord c. 1891 in Old Westbury.  Click HERE, HERE and HERE for more on the estate.

'Erchless' and the Charles Steel Estate Aerial

A 1938 aerial of 'Erchless', the Howard Phipps estate designed by Adams & Prentice c. 1935 and neighboring Charles Steele estate in Old Westbury.  Click HERE for more on 'Erchless' and HERE on the Charles Steele estate.  Photo from Stony Brook University's Digital Archive.

The J.F.D. Lanier Estate

The estate of James Franklin Doughty Lanier, built c. 1891 by James Brown Lord in Old Westbury. Lanier was a financier and member of the firm of Winslow, Lanier & Co., one of the oldest private banking houses in the country. He was one of the first members of the Meadow Brook Hunt Club and his obituary calls him one of the pioneer automobile drivers in the country. The house was later owned by Charles Steele who gave it an extensive remodeling and was eventually demolished when his grandchildren built a new house on the site.

'Three Ponds'

'Three Ponds', the Victor Morawetz estate designed by Delano & Aldrich c. 1912 in Woodbury. Morawetz was an attorney with Seward, Guthrie, Morawetz and Steele. Today the house is part of the Town of Oyster Bay Golf Course. Click HERE to see 'Three Ponds' on google earth.

Pictures from House and Garden, 1918.

'Sunridge Hall' Front Gate

The front gate to 'Sunridge Hall', the Devereux Milburn Jr. estate in Old Westbury. Milburn was given 11 acres from the Mrs. Charles Steele estate, his grandmother, to build his own home designed by Harry Lindeberg in 1949. Notice the 'S' under the light fixture on the gate. Click HERE to see 'Sunridge Hall' on google earth.